Surface tracker for an underwater vehicle

ABSTRACT

A surface tracker for an underwater vehicle which includes a float and a reel mounted to the float. The reel is loaded with a line, the free end of which can be attached to the underwater vehicle. A spring is connected to the reel for biasing the reel in a direction to wind the line on the reel. With such an arrangement, the free end of the line can be attached to the underwater vehicle and the float will trail the vehicle even though the vehicle ascends or descends in the water.

UnIted States Patent 1191 1111 3, Talkin ton Nov. 11 1975 [5 SURFACE TRACKER FOR AN 3.020.567 2/1962 c611 9/8 R UNDERWATER VEHICLE FORElGN PATENTS OR APPLlCATlONS Inventor: g r Talkington, La 10119, 439.206 6/1912 France ll4/l6.5

[73] Assignee: The United States of America as f Bhx represented by the Secretary of the Ass/stunt EmmIIIerSherman D. Baslnger Navy, Washington DC Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Richard S. Sciascia; Ervin F. Johnston [22] FIled: Jan. 24, 1975 [21] Appl. No; 543,736 [57] ABSTRACT A surface tracker for an underwater vehicle which in- 521 US. Cl. 9/8 R; 114/235 R dudes float and reel mounted to the fioat- The reel [51] Int. Cl. B63B 21/52 is loaded with a line the free end of which can be [58] Field Of Search 9/8 R, 9; 114/164, 16.5, tached to the underwater vehicle A Spring is 114/235 WS 230 nected to the reel for biasing the reel in a direction to wind the line on the reel. With such an arrangement,

5 References Cited the free end of the line can be attached to the underwater vehicle and the float will trail the vehicle even UNITED STATES PATENTS though the vehicle ascends ordescends in the water. 2,915,259 12/1959 Force ll4/235 WS 2,952,236 9/1960 Moyes .1 114/230 4 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures US. Patent Nov. 11, 1975 3,918,113

STATEMENT OF GOVERNMENT INTEREST The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The U.S. Navy has developed an underwater vehicle which is called Cable Underwater Recovery Vehicle (CURV). This vehicle is tethered to a surface ship by a cable and has T.V. cameras on it so that an operator aboard the ship can perform underwater work operations by visual observation. The vehicle can be selectively provided with a claw, togglebolt, spear, or clamp for performing these work operations. If an object is to be recovered from the floor of the ocean, these tools can be ejected from the vehicle so that a lift line can be attached to the tool for recovery of the object. Notable achievements of the CURV have been the recovery of the atomic bomb off the coast of Spain in 1966 and the untanglement of the Pisces vehicle which contained two aquanauts off the coast of Ireleand in 1973.

Much of the work of CURV is on the continental shelf and in waters less than 200 feet. When it becomes necessary to recover an object which was inadvertently lost at sea the CURV operator sets up a search pattern for the underwater vehicle. In running this pattern, the operator uses his best judgement in visual observation of the ocean bottom to obtain complete coverage. If the object is located, the operator normally attaches a claw to the object, ejects the claw, and dispatches a diver to attach a lift line to the claw for retrieval of the submerged object. In this evolution of retrieval it would be highly desirable if a surface located position indicator could provide information to the surface operators asto the underwater location of the vehicle while it undergoes its search pattern. This would aid and assist in performing a more accurate search pattern and would identify the location of the submerged object once the claw or other tool has been attached thereto. Further, it would be highly desirable to retrieve the submerged object without the requirement of dispatching a diver.

STATEMENT OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a device which will indicate on the surface of the water the location of an underwater vehicle, as well as providing a means for retrieving a submerged object without dispatching a diver. This has been accomplished by a float which has a reel mounted to it. The reel is loaded with a line, the free end of which can be attached to the ejectable too] of underwater vehicle. Spring means, such as a coil spring, are connected to the reel for biasing the reel in a direction to wind the line on the reel. With this arrangement the free end of the line can be attached to the tool on the underwater vehicle and as the underwater vehicle undergoes it search pattern the float will trail the vehicle and provide a constant indication of the position of the vehicle. As the vehicle ascends or descends in the water the spring on the reel will maintain a constant tension so that the float will be nearly directly above the movements of the underwater vehicle. When the tool of the vehicle is attached to the submerged object the float will indicate the location of the object and a lift line can be slid down the line from the reel until it attaches to the ejectable tool.

STATEMENT OF OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a device which will enable improvement of the search pattern of an underwater vehicle.

Another object of the invention is to provide a surface track of the location of an underwater vehicle as the vehicle moves in the water even though these movements include up and down movements.

A further object is to provide a device which will improve the search pattern of an underwater vehicle. identify the location of a discovered underwater object, and enable the retrieval of the underwater object without the dispatching of a diver.

These and other objects of the invention will become more readily apparent from the ensuing specification taken together with the drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an ocean elevation view of the underwater vehicle tethered to a surface vessel and being tracked on the surface by position indicator.

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of the position indicator and the details of the line attachment to an ejectable tool of the underwater vehicle.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged isometric view ofa broken away portion of the board type float with the reel thereon.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawing wherein like reference numberals designate like or similar parts throughout the several views, there is illustrated in FIG. I an underwater vehicle 10, such as the cable underwater recovery vehicle (CURV) developed by the U.S. Navy. This vehicle 10 is controlled by an operator aboard a surface ship 12. The control of various propulsers on the vehicle l0 and the control of various tools, such as ejectable claw 14, are operated by signals transmitted via a control cable 16 between the vehicle and the surface vessel. Power to the propulsers and the claw is supplied by batteries aboard the underwater vehicle. The ejectable claw 14 is utilized for grabbing an underwater object after it has been found by the operator.

When an object, such as a practice torpedo 18, is lost at sea the operator of the underwater vehicle will collect as much data as possible to establish a search area for retrieval of the torpedo. The operator then maneuvers the vehicle 10 through a search pattern with sufficient overlap so that all portions of the ocean bottom are covered. When the torpedo is traversed by the underwater vehicle the operator will visually see the torpedo through a T.V. camera on the underwater vehicle. He will then maneuver the vehicle to attach the ejectable claws 14 to the torpedo. After the claw I4 is attached to the torpedo a lift line is connected to the claw for lifting the torpedo to the surface vessel 12.

During theevolution described in the preceding paragraph it would be especially beneficial to the operator of the underwater vehicle if a surface indication could be provided of the underwater location of the vehicle 10 as it undergoes its search pattern. Further, it would be desirable to indicate the location of the underwater vehicle 10 after it has made connection with the torpedo. Lastly, it would be an improvement if the torpedo could be liftedby a lift line without the requirement of a diver to attach the lift line to the ejectable tool 14 on the vehicle. The present invention, which is illustrated generally at in FIG. 1, provides an apparatus which will accomplish all of the aforementioned objectives.

The invention 20 is a surface tracker of the underwater vehicle and includes a float 22 and a reel 24 which is mounted to the float. The reel 24 is loaded with a line 26, the free end of which line can be attached to the underwater vehicle 10 at the ejectable tool 14. Spring means, such as a coil spring 28, as illustrated in FIG. 2, are connected to the reel for biasing the reel in a direction to wind the line 26 thereon. With this arrangement, the free end of the line 26 can be attached to the underwater vehicle 10, as illustrated in FIG. 1, and the float 22 will trail the vehicles movements even through the vehicle is ascending or descending in the water in its search for the downed torpedo 18.

It is important that the float 22 trail the vehicle 10 in a surface position which is as near as possible to a vertical projection of the vehicle. One means of accomplishing this purpose is the spring load on the reel 24 to maintain a constant tension on the line 26 as the vehicle undergoes its underwater movements. Another factor which has been found significant to achieve this purpose is to minimize the drag of the float 22 on the water as it trails the underwater vehicle. This drag has been minimized by utilizing a float which is elongated and planar so that it will lie flat in the water with a top side and a bottom side. In the construction of the invention it has been found satisfactory to utilize a surfboard for this purpose which has a tail fin 30 for stabilization. The surfboard skims the surface of the water with a minimum of drag so as to trail close to the vertical projection of the underwater vehicle 10.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the reel 24 may be mounted on top of the board 22 by a pair of vertically upstanding spaced apart brackets 32. The brackets 32 receive a reel axle 34 which extends in a direction athwart to the board 22. The coil spring 28 may be mounted within a cylindrical casing 36 which is to one side and coextensive with the reel 24 and adjacent to one of the brackets 32. An inner end of the spring 28 may be connected to the axle 34 and the other end of the spring may be attached to an inner circumference of the cylindrical casing 36.

The board 22 may be provided with an aperture 38 in the proximity of the reel24. The line 26 may extend from the reel 24 downwardly through the aperture 38 for connection to the underwater vehicle 10. Means may be mounted to the bottom of the board 22 and extend therebelow for receiving the line 26 and guiding its payout and retrieval. The guide means may include a ring 40 which is mounted a distance below the board 22 by a plurality of struts 42. The ring 40 is provided with a smooth inner surface so that the line will pass therethrough with a minimum of friction and be guided onto and off of the reel 24.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the lower end of the line 26 may be provided with a snap hook 44 which may in turn be connected to an eye 46 on the objectable claw 14 of the underwater vehicle. The line 26 may be provided with a go getter spear 48 just above the snap 44 for receiving a lock mechanism on the end of a lift line (not shown). With this arrangement the end of the lift line may be slid down the line 26 until a mating device (not shown) on the lift line makes engagement with the go getter" spear 48. Upon ejection of the claw 14 from the underwater vehicle 10 the lift line can then be utilized for lifting and retrieving the submerged object, such as torpedo 18.

In order to facilitate visual inspection of the location of the float 22 the top of the board 22 may be provided with a pole and marker flag 50 which extends upwardly therefrom. Further, the top of the board may be provided with an arched handle 52 for retrieval and easy handling of the board 22 by personnel aboard the surface vessel.

OPERATION OF THE INVENTION In the operation of the invention the latch 44 on the line 26 is connected to the claw 14 on the vehicle 10 while the vehicle is at the: surface vessel 12. The vehicle 10 is then submerged and started on its search pattern. As the vehicle 10 makes its movements in the water forward. aft, up, or down the cable 26 remains taut due to the spring loading of the reel 24. This causes the float 22 to follow close to the vertical projection of the vehicle 10 so as to aid and assist the operator aboard the surface vessel .12 in conducting the search pattern. When the operator spots the underwater object, such as the torpedo 18, the claw 14 is operated to make an attachment with the torpedo. The claw 14 is then ejected from the vehicle 10 so as to remain on the torpedo 18. The surface vessel 12 is then brought into the proximity of the float 22 and a lift line with a latching mechanism (not shown) is slidably attached to the line i 26 and allowed to descend until the latching mechanism engages and locks on the "go getter" spear 48. The lift line can then be utilized for lifting the torpedo 18 to the surface vessel 12 for recovery purposes.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in the light of the above teachings, and, it is therefore understood thatwithin the scope of the disclosed inventive concept, the invention may be practiced otherwise than specifically described.

I claim: 1. A surface tracker for an underwater vehicle comprising:

a float; a reel mounted to the float; said reel being loaded with a line, the free end of which can be attached to the underwater vehicle; spring means connected to the reel for biasing the reel in a direction to wind the line on the reel,

said float being an elongated board which is adapted to lie flat in the water with a top side and a bottom side,

said reel being mounted on top of the board with the central axis of the reel extending athwart the board;

said board having an aperture in the proximity of said 3 7 underwater vehicle the float will trail the vehicle even though the vehicle ascends or descends in the water.

a pole and marker flag mounted on the top of the board and extending upwardly therefrom.

4. A surface tracekr as claimed in claim 3 including:

a cylindrical casing mounted coaxially on one side of said reel; and

a coil spring disposed in the cylindrical casing, one end of the coil spring being connected to the reel shaft and the other end being connected to said cylindrical casing. 

1. A surface tracker for an underwater vehicle comprising: a float; a reel mounted to the float; said reel being loaded with a line, the free end of which can be attached to the underwater vehicle; spring means connected to the reel for biasing the reel in a direction to wind the line on the reel, said float being an elongated board which is adapted to lie flat in the water with a top side and a bottom side, said reel being mounted on top of the board with the central axis of the reel extending athwart the board; said board having an aperture in the proximity of said reel; said line extending from the reel and through the aperture; and means mounted to the bottom of the board and extending therebelow for receiving the line and guiding its payout and retrieval, whereby upon attaching the free end of the line to the underwater vehicle the float will trail the vehicle even though the vehicle ascends or descends in the water.
 2. A surface tracker as claimed in claim 1 wherein the spring means includes: a cylindrical casing mounted coaxially on one side of said reel; and a coil spring disposed in the cylindrical casing, one end of the coil spring being connected to the reel shaft and the other end being connected to said cylindrical casing.
 3. A surface tracker as claimed in claim 1 including: a fin mounted on the bottom of the board; and a pole and marker flag mounted on the top of the board and extending upwardly therefrom.
 4. A surface tracekr as claimed in claim 3 including: a cylindrical casing mounted coaxially on one side of said reel; and a coil spring disposed in the cylindrical casing, one end of the coil spring being connected to the reel shaft and the other end being connected to said cylindrical casing. 